U.S., China Reach a Truce on Trade

The U.S. will delay a planned increase in tariffs on Chinese goods, as the two sides prepare for further negotiations.

China and the U.S. agreed to a cease-fire in a trade battle that has shaken global markets, with the U.S. postponing plans to increase tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods and the two sides entering negotiations on other contentious issues.

The truce was designed to ease tensions after months of escalating trade conflict, and held out the prospect that the world’s two largest economies could find an accommodation that would set their trading relationship on a different path. Amid the consensus, though, there were already differing interpretations over what happens next, possibly portending the difficult talks to come.

According to the White House, the two nations will discuss thorny issues of Chinese economic policy, including forced technology transfer, intellectual-property protection, non-tariff barriers, cyberintrusions and cybertheft, services and agriculture. The two sides would “endeavor” to wrap up the talks in 90 days.

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